"Sealaska Heritage Institute"

The robe was on display during Celebration in hopes that people might see it and know something about its origins. 

He says that after he moved to Seattle, he started creating his own designs to cure his homesickness for Alaska.

This year’s event promises almost 1,600 dancers from 36 dance groups, including the lead dance group Dakhká Khwáan Dancers from Whitehorse, Canada.

The robe is more than 150 years old. This is the first time it’s been used in a ceremony for at least six decades.

The robe is now in Sealaska Heritage Institute’s archives and collections department. Next month, weavers will start learning from it.

Artists have until Jan. 12 to pitch design concepts for “Together we live in balance.”